News tagged ‘iPad HD’

Apple is working on both an enhanced A5 (A5X) chip and a new A6 chip, according to 9to5Mac.

The site noticed that the original iPad's A4 chip was called S5L8930X, the iPad 2's A5 chip was called the S5L8940X, and the recently leaked A5X chip was labeled as S5L8945X. Going from the A4 to the A5 chip saw a jump of 10 in the labeling but going from the A5 to the A5X only had a jump of 5. Thus, the site surmised that the A6 should consequently be called the S5L8950X.

Now evidence of an S5L8950X (A6) chip has been found in the iOS 5.1 beta:

Meijer, a regional big-box retailer in the U.S., slashed the price of the 16GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi by $70, and Best Buy has begun offering $50 off every iPad 2 model. These facts could, however, suggest that Foxconn is already preparing to ship the device's third-generation successor to Apple in the United States.

The alleged secret shipments from Foxconn were revealed in a shipping manifest from Apple.pro revealed this weekend, which shows a series of shipments scheduled to begin delivery in the U.S. no later than March 9. The mystery orders arriving from Chengdu, China, are said to be under high security. A source from Foxconn's Chengdu plant reportedly indicated that the shipment is for "Apple's latest products."

Today chip maker Qualcomm took the wraps off its new chip, a fifth iteration of its Gobi platform. It includes a comprehensive support for TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, LTE on TDD and FDD networks and has GPS capabilities. Also it supports the EV-DO and HSPA+ for backwards compatibility. Theoretically, such a powerful combination would allow Gobi devices to connect locally to the faster LTE network and stay connected to the Internet on 3G networks worldwide.

Various iPad 3 parts have leaked in recent weeks, but the front panel of the alleged device has remained unseen until now. Apple.pro points to a posting on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo showing what is claimed to be the front glass and digitizer assembly from the iPad 3.

The part appears nearly identical to that of the iPad 2, with the major distinguishing feature being a relatively long ribbon cable extending up the side of the display as opposed to a shorter cable with a sideways orientation seen in the iPad 2. Other features of the iPad 3 display include the same round home button seen in all iOS devices so far and a hole in the top bezel to accommodate both the front-facing camera and the ambient light sensor.

WeiPhone site has leaked a photo of an iPad 3 logic board with A5X CPU chip. Previously it was expected that new tablet will feature A6 chip, reports MacRumors.

A date code of "1146" on the A5X indicates that it was manufactured in the 46th week of 2011, which would have corresponded to November 14-20. An "A5X" as a step-wise upgrade to the A5 corresponds with progression of processor part numbers as revealed by BGR in February. At the time the A4 was known to be the S5L8930X, the A5 as the S5L8940X and the new iPad processor as S5L8945X.

Citing a “reliable source”, Japanese blog Macotakara reports that Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone in September or October of this year, about a year after the debut of the iPhone 4S that was released in October of 2011.

According to Asian reliable source, next iPhone will be released in September or October, and this cycle seems to be kept for years.

MacRumors also heard from a representative of a supplier known to provide parts for the iPhone that Apple's ordering plans are pointing toward a launch of new hardware in the September.

Apple Daily claims to have received the photo above that shows what is claimed to be an overview shot of the new iPad 3 back enclosure (top of image) as well as a comparison shot between the original iPad, the iPad 2 and the New iPad (inset).

The shot reveals the familiar form-factor but the lightning that looks much better in the shot seems to have undergone significant changes. The iPad 3 enclosure seems to have also a more gradual taper to the edges than the iPad 2. As a result of this longer taper, the iPad 3's camera rests on the taper itself.

The absolute positioning of the camera doesn't seem that far off from the iPad 2, but the lens does appear larger. According to NextMedia, the new iPad 3 camera will see a significant upgrade to 8 megapixels. The current iPad 2 back camera is 1 megapixel in resolution.

MacRumors managed to obtain the rumored iPad 3 displays, of course, these iPad 3 screens weren't directly sourced from Apple, and examined them under a microscope to determine if they are indeed an ultra-high resolution Retina displays.

Physically, the purported iPad 3 display is the same size as the current iPad 1 and iPad 2 display at 9.7" in diagonal, and looks quite similar to the naked eye.

However, when comparing the iPad 3 display to one from an iPad 2 under a microscope, the difference in resolutions becomes readily apparent, with the iPad 3 display's pixels appearing to be one-quarter the size of those on the iPad 2.

Citing a "reliable source," Apple blog iMore on Monday claimed that the much anticipated iPad 3 announcement is imminent, and new whispers suggest that the date will be March 7.

Aside from the date of the announcement, iMore also claims that the iPad 3 will feature a 2048x1536 Retina display, possibly manufactured by Sharp, as well as a redesigned case that could allow for a larger battery than current models. It was reported that in order to implement the high pixel density screen, a unique dual LED backlighting arrangement would be needed, and the larger battery could be in response to the extra energy requirements. Other rumors suggest that the next-generation iPad may receive a quad-core A6 processor and "possibly" 4G LTE networking.

According to ChinaTimes report, Apple has ordered 65 million 2048×1536 Retina displays for iPad 3 from Samsung and LG. Reportedly both companies have already begun production. However it is unclear if this number covers orders to Sharp, which is also rumored to be manufacturing displays for coming iPad 3.

According to Digitimes, one of the major Apple’s manufacturing partners Pegatron has ceased production of ASUS’ Zenbooks over pressure from Apple. Digitimes notes that Apple is displeased with similarities in design between MacBook Air and Zenbooks and asked Pegatron to stop production of these notebooks or it will lose orders for manufacturing of iOS devices.

Apple is widely expected to reveal its next-generation iPad at a special media event in the first week of March. The iPad 3 is believed to carry a ultra-high resolution 2048x1536 display that exceeds the resolution of 1080p content. Now Apple offers a maximum of 720p HD content on their iTunes Store.

We've already seen evidence that Apple has been working on a next generation Apple TV. Back in October, references to an unreleased "AppleTV3,1" model were found in the latest versions of iOS 5. Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly asked movie studios to start submitting 1080p content to the iTunes Store late last year.

Citing unnamed sources, AllThingsD reported on Thursday that Apple's so-called "iPad 3" will debut at a special event to be held the first week in March in San Francisco.

Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like these. No word yet on a street date for the iPad 3 (assuming that’s what it’s called), though my guess is retail availability will follow roughly the same schedule as that of the iPad 2: Available for purchase a week or so after the event.

RepairLabs reports that it has managed to obtain a photo of what is claimed to be the rear shell of the iPad 3 and compared the part with the corresponding version of the iPad 2. Based on the photo, the site concluded that the iPad 3 version demonstrates a few minor changes with a narrower logic board that could make room for an expanded battery.

In a side-by-side comparison of the new component with the iPad 2 back panel, the repair site found four key differences:

The alleged third-generation iPad back panel has "very different" mounts for the logic board, implying that the shape of the logic board in the next iPad will also be a major change.

This would allow for a larger battery within the iPad 3, because the width of where the logic board sits is much smaller on the new component.

The component also reveals that the camera on the new iPad will be "different," though any changes from the current iPad 2 cannot be deciphered from the panel.

Finally, the site also declared that the LCD display will also be "different" than the current iPad 2, based on different mounting in the new back panel. Apple is rumored to utilize a new, high-resolution Retina Display for its next iPad.

The photo does not show the backside of the rear shell that would be visible on the assembled device, nor does it show an edge view that would allow for a thickness comparison to the iPad 2.